Author: Babajanian Karo

MERKEL PRETE A RELANCER AVEC PRUDENCE LE PROCESSUS D’ADHESION DE LA TURQUIE A L’UE

La chancelière allemande Angela Merkel a reitere lundi a Ankara son
engagement a relancer prudemment le processus d’adhesion moribond
de la Turquie a l’UE, mais en demandant a Ankara de lever en echange
son blocage sur la question de Chypre.

Ainsi qu’elle l’avait annonce a la veille de sa visite, Mme Merkel
s’est de nouveau declaree, devant la presse, disposee a ouvrir un
nouveau chapitre de discussions. ” Nous voulons que ce processus avance
“, a-t-elle declare a l’issue d’un entretien avec le Premier ministre
turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

” Meme si j’ai des reserves sur une adhesion pleine et entière de
la Turquie, je veux que les discussions se poursuivent “, a ajoute
la chancelière, ” mais nous avons besoin de progrès sur le protocole
d’Ankara, sinon nous ne pourrons pas continuer a ouvrir des chapitres
” de discussion.

Signe en juillet 2005, le protocole d’Ankara prevoit que la Turquie
etende a tous les pays qui ont adhere a l’Union europeenne il y a
un an, dont Chypre, les accords d’union douanière qui l’unissent aux
pays europeens.

Ankara, dont les troupes occupent depuis 1974 la partie septentrionale
de Chypre, refuse toujours de reconnaître le gouvernement de sa partie
meridionale et n’a, jusque-la, pas tenu son engagement. Ses ports
et aeroports sont ainsi fermes aux navires et avions en provenance
directe de Chypre.

” Ouvrir un nouveau chapitre est un premier pas, avancons pas a pas
“, a insiste Mme Merkel devant son hôte.

M. Erdogan s’est garde de repondre directement a son invitee sur le
sujet en indiquant ” ne pas connaître ” les intentions du nouveau
president chypriote Nicos Anastasiades, largement elu dimanche, sur
cette question. ” Mais nous ferons notre possible pour surmonter ces
difficultes (…) si nous sentons une volonte honnete de parvenir a
une solution durable “, a-t-il poursuivi.

Sujets qui fâchent

Meme modeste et prudent, le geste de la chancelière intervient
après celui de la France, qui s’est dite prete au debut du mois a
lever son veto sur un des cinq chapitres de discussion bloques par
l’ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, farouchement hostile a l’entree de
la Turquie dans l’UE.

Comme l’a souligne un sondage publie dimanche dans le Bild am Sonntag,
près des deux tiers des Allemands (60%) demeurent hostiles a une
adhesion de la Turquie.

Ankara a amorce en 2005 des negociations en vue de rejoindre l’UE,
mais les pourparlers pietinent, en raison de l’hostilite de pays
europeens comme la France et l’Allemagne a sa pleine adhesion mais
aussi de blocages d’Ankara.

Outre la question europeenne, Mme Merkel a egalement tenu a repondre
a son hôte, qui a recemment accuse a plusieurs reprises l’Allemagne
de complaisance a l’egard des militants kurdes ou de l’extreme
gauche turque qui vivent sur son territoire, notamment après
l’attentat-suicide qui a frappe, au debut du mois, l’ambassade des
Etats-Unis dans la capitale turque.

” Nous sommes très sensibles a la surveillance des membres du PKK “,
le Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan en lutte contre Ankara depuis
1984, a-t-elle assure.

La chancelière a jete une autre pierre dans le jardin de M. Erdogan
en indiquant a la presse avoir evoque avec lui les nouvelles lois en
matière judiciaire que le Parlement turc doit adopter pour mettre
fin aux ” longues detentions preventives ” et creer des conditions
de travail favorisant la liberte de la presse.

La Turquie est regulièrement montree du doigt par les ONG de defense
des droits de l’homme pour les derives de son arsenal legislatif
antiterroriste et les nombreuses incarcerations de journalistes sur
son territoire.

Mme Merkel devait s’exprimer en fin d’après-midi devant un forum de
patrons turcs et allemands puis retrouver M. Erdogan pour un dîner,
avant de regagner Berlin.

L’Allemagne constitue le premier partenaire economique europeen de
la Turquie, loin devant l’Italie et la France. M. Erdogan a rappele
lundi que le volume des echanges commerciaux entre les deux pays
atteignait près de 35 milliards de dollars.

vendredi 1er mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

Councilman Rafi Manoukian hopes to help quash Measure A

Councilman is running for city treasurer, but ballot result will
affect job’s future

Glendale News-Press (Glendale, California)
February 28, 2013

By Brittany Levine, [email protected]

Rather than raising money for his own campaign for city treasurer,
Councilman Rafi Manoukian plans to set up a fundraising committee to
battle a ballot measure that could prevent him from taking the job.

While Manoukian is running unopposed for treasurer, Measure A, if
passed, would convert the elected position into an appointed one.

`The majority of my focus on the campaign will be against the
measure,’ Manoukian said in an interview, adding that he is in the
midst of planning fundraisers.

Meanwhile, the main backers of the measure – Councilman Dave Weaver
and City Treasurer Ron Borucki – said they are unaware of any person
or group planning to raise money in support of the measure.

Neither side has filed financial disclosure paperwork for a committee,
but Manoukian said he plans to do so by the next disclosure deadline,
March 21.

He filed a form promising to limit his fundraising for his personal
campaign to $1,000 last Thursday, the deadline for the first round of
financial disclosure forms.

Weaver, who pushed for the measure to get on the ballot, said he
doesn’t plan to start a fundraising committee in support of Measure A
and he is `just trying to spread the word.’

Supporters of the measure say it would take popularity out of the
equation for what they consider to be a highly technical position.

`The voting booth is not the place to determine the technical skill
set for a money specialist,’ wrote Borucki in his argument in favor of
Measure A, which will appear on the April ballot.

As part of the full-time job, the treasurer mostly invests Glendale’s
$372-million portfolio in bonds. The portfolio has struggled in recent
years due to low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.

Manoukian, an accountant, was the top vote-getter in 2011 when he ran
for council. When Borucki beat him for the treasurer’s seat in 2009,
Manoukian wasn’t far behind after gaining 49% of the vote.

Opponents of Measure A say the top investor of public money should be
beholden to voters, not the city manager. `Why would the community
give up their right to vote after 100 years?’ Manoukian said.

Glendale voters have shot down a similar measure three times before,
the last time in 1979.

City Council candidates are split about the measure. Councilwoman
Laura Friedman, teacher Jefferson Black and Sam Engel, a former
neighborhood services administrator, support it. But the other nine
candidates disagree.

While Councilman Ara Najarian supports an elected treasurer, he has
said he wishes Manoukian wasn’t running unopposed. Three others had
pulled paperwork to run for the position but backed out.

Borucki, a former investment banker, and his predecessor, Betty Evans,
a former City Hall typist, were appointed to the position after
replacing treasurers midterm. They subsequently were elected to keep
their jobs.

While Manoukian has touted financial transparency and kept tabs on
city finances from the dais, he also has much to gain salary-wise from
a win.

In 2011, Borucki’s total wages were $129,690, not including benefits,
according to records from the state controller’s office. Council
members, who are considered part-time workers, now make $21,900 a year
including stipends for council and Housing Authority meetings as well
as a car allowance, according to city records.

Follow Brittany Levine on Google+ and on Twitter: @brittanylevine.

OSCE/ODIHR Doubts Integrity of Elections

15:31 02/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

“An OSCE/ODIHR EOM analysis of final results as published by the CEC
shows a close correlation between the voter turnout and the number of
votes for the incumbent, with PECs with above average turnout also
having a higher share of votes for Mr. Sargsyan. Out of the 1,988
polling stations, 1,746 have 300 or more registered voters.10 In 144
of those, voter turnout exceeded 80 per cent, which seems implausibly
high; the incumbent received above 80 per cent of the votes cast in
115 of these stations. In 198 out of the 303 stations where turnout
was between 70 and 80 per cent, the incumbent received more than 70
per cent of the votes. Among 249 stations where turnout was below 50
per cent, Mr. Sargsyan received more than 50 per cent in 40, and Mr.
Hovannisyan received more than 50 per cent in 155. The tendency of
higher results for the incumbent observed at the majority of stations
with high turnout raises concerns regarding the confidence over the
integrity of the electoral process,” states the third interim report
of the OSCE/ODIHR international election observation mission.

See the full report here.

Lithuania-Artsakh deputy friendship group: Lithuania has always
supported aspiration of Nagornyy Karabakh to independence

ARMINFO
Saturday, March 2, 17:05

Taking into consideration the fact that over the current year
Nagornyy Karabakh will celebrate the 25th anniversary since
fulfillment of its right for independence,
Lithuania has always supported such an aspiration of Karabakh
residents and peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, the
Lithuania-Artsakh friendship group has been set up in the parliament
of Lithuania, the statement by the Lithuania-Artsakh friendship group
says.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 2 2013

Five month prison sentences given for banners targeting Armenians

ISTANBUL

Demonstrators who held banners targeting Armenians during last year’s
commemoration of the Khojaly massacre, in which hundreds of
Azerbaijanis were killed by Armenian military forces, have been
sentenced to five months in prison by an Istanbul court, daily
Habertürk reported March 2.

The banners which read `You are all Armenians, you are all bastards,’
as well as signs that mocked the slain Turkish journalist of Armenian
origin Hrant Dink, had caused indignation both inside and outside
Turkey. Prosecutions were initiated against the 10 organizers who held
the banners for incitement to hatred.

The indicted said their intention was not to insult, but rather to
draw attention to the Khojaly massacre and protest the French
Parliament. At the time, France was considering a bill to make it a
crime to deny that the events of 1915 amounted to a genocide against
the Armenian people.

The court sentenced six of the 10 suspects to six months in prison,
which was reduced to five for good behavior during the trial. They
were also fined 3,000 Turkish Liras.

March/02/2013

US Fed News
February 28, 2013 Thursday 10:16 AM EST

SCOTTSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND U.S. HOLOCAUST MUSEUM PRESENT
‘GENOCIDE AWARENESS WEEK’

TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 28 — Maricopa Community Colleges issued the
following news release:

An unprecedented week of events highlighting genocide and the legacy
of such atrocities, from Germany and Armenia to Rwanda/Burundi, Bosnia
and Darfur, will be presented at Scottsdale Community College April
8-13, 2013.

The SCC Honors Program in cooperation with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum presents “Genocide Awareness Week: Understand, Act and Protect”
as part of Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. All events and
exhibits are free and open to the public.

The series of educational events include discussions with genocide
survivors, such as Holocaust survivor Otto Schimmel. He will speak
during the opening evening event on Monday, April 8, along with
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett and Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane.

Cindy McCain, wife of U.S. Sen. John McCain, also discuss her
experiences in the Congo in an afternoon session.

Notable scholars schedule to speak include Dr. Richard Hovannisian, a
UCLA professor and expert on the Armenian genocide, and Dr. Esad
Boskailo, M.D., a University of Arizona professor and author who
survived Bosnian concentration camps.

Maximilian Lerner, a refugee from Austria who escaped through France
and Portugal to the U.S. and returned to Europe during the war as a
spy, will speak on Thursday, April 11. He penned two novels based on
his experiences.

Art exhibits, a documentary premiere, a movie screening and two
standing exhibits will be featured as well. Authors will be available
to sign their books, which will be available for purchase in the SCC
Bookstore.

The two standing exhibits, Camp Darfur and the One Million Bones
Project, will offer interactive displays and information throughout
the week. Camp Darfur will feature five refugee tents providing
information about five different genocides: the Holocaust, Armenia,
Cambodia, Rwanda/Burundi and Darfur. The Million Bones Project allows
persons to create a plaster cast of a bone, which represents a symbol
of genocide.

Renowned Scottsdale-based artist Robert Sutz will show his “We
Remember: Holocaust Art” exhibit in SCC’s Fine Arts Building
throughout the week. As a tribute to his father, whose family died in
Nazi concentration camps, Sutz creates life masks of Holocaust
survivors and Holocaust scenes.

Another exhibit, Sonja’s Legacy, will feature watercolor artwork
created by Sonja Fischerova while she was at Terezin Concentration
Camp during World War II. She died at age 13 in Auschwitz but her
paintings were later discovered by a family member in a Prague museum.

Other presentations include a report on domestic terrorism and civil
rights from two FBI agents and the Anti-Defamation League and Phoenix
Police Department teaming up to share information on hate crimes.

On Saturday, April 13, educators from across the state will attend a
day-long training session focused on learning how to use activities to
teach about the Holocaust and other genocides.They also will hear from
scholar Timothy Kaiser, director of Educational Resources and Wexner
Center at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and featured guest Carl
Wilkens, the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief
Agency International in Rwanda. In 1994, he was the only American who
chose to remain in the country after the genocide began. The event is
sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Most of the events will be in the Turquoise Room in SCC’s Student
Center except for the opening evening event, which will be in SCC’s
Performing Arts Center.

Teachers seeking to participate in the Saturday training session
should contact Kim Klett at [email protected] To register, visit

Other sponsors of this event are Mesa Community College and SCC’s Phi
Theta Kappa.

For the full schedule, visit SCC’s home page beginning the week of
March 4. For any query with respect to this article or any other
content requirement, please contact Editor at
[email protected]

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #678
March 2 2013

Armenia: Opposition Candidate Campaigns to Annul Election

Raffi Hovhannisyan did better than expected, but insists he was robbed
of victory.

By Arpi Beglaryan – Caucasus
CRS Issue 678, 2 Mar 13

Raffi Hovhannisyan, defeated in Armenia’s presidential election, has
been touring the country, telling supporters he is the real victor, as
part of a campaign to get the results overturned and a fresh balllot
held..

The United States-born politician’s tour of the country, in which he
has made a point of stopping to chat with members of the public, has
been dubbed the `Barevolution’ – from the Armenian word `barev’,
meaning `hi’.

Official results from the February 18 ballot show that the incumbent
president Serzh Sargsyan won easily with 58.7 per cent. But
Hovhannisyan’s unexpectedly high score of 36.7 per cent has galvanised
his supporters and emboldened him to allege openly that the vote was
rigged. (See Armenia: Presidential Challenger Rejects Poll Result..)

Hovhannisyan is head of the Heritage Party, a small opposition party,
but he appears to have become the focus for anti-Sargsyan feeling once
the major opposition forces boycotted the poll.

There is wide popular dissatisfaction about poverty, the sluggish
economy, and the number of people forced to emigrate to find work.

`Hovhannisyan became de facto the unifying candidate for the
opposition,’ Yervand Borzoyan, head of the Mitk think-tank, said. `The
authorities were very complacent as they thought his ratings were low,
given that his party won only five per cent in the parliamentary
election in May last year.’

Hovhannisyan certainly sees himself as a unifying figure.

`There are no party flags here, there is no Heritage, Dashnaktsutyun,
or Armenian National Congress. We all understand that this isn’t a
party political fight, but a campaign to get ordinary Armenians to
return from abroad, for the children to come back to their homeland,’
he said.

Hovhannisyan won outright in only one of Armenia’s 11 administrative
regions, Shirak, but he performed well in many towns across the
country. That trend could be a headache for Sargsyan in future
elections.

Levon Barseghyan, head of the Gyumri Press Club, said that most voters
in Shirak’s rural areas voted overwhelmingly for Sargsyan, so
Hovhannisyan’s overall victory in the region was thanks to the urban
electorate in Gyumri, Maralik and Artik.

In Gyumri, the region’s main town, he won nearly 43,000 votes to
Sargsyan’s 17,000.

`People voted for Raffi because the situation in the region is dire,
and there’s a section of society with nothing to lose but its votes,’
Barseghyan said.

Hovhannisyan also won in Vanadzor, the third-largest city in Armenia
after Yerevan and Gyumri.

Despite winning Kapan, the main town of the southern region of Syunik,
Hovhannisyan lost overall there. On a visit to the region, he called
for the dismissal of regional governor Suren Khachatryan and used
meetings with the mayors of Meghri and Kajaran to accuse them of
rigging the election results against him.

In Gyumri, Hovhannisyan’s post-election tour drew a crowd of 5,000 or
6,000. While a smaller number – some 2,000 – took to the streets in
Vanadzor, locals said that was bigger than any demonstration in many
years.

Hovhannisyan dismisses criticisms that he has imported American-style
campaign methods.

`There is nothing to be ashamed about in greeting people and receiving
a greeting in return. That isn’t some western technique, but an
ordinary Armenian greeting, which carries great power,’ he said.

Stepa Safaryan, a political analyst with Hovhannisyan’s Heritage
Party, said this post-election tour was unprecedented, and marked the
launch of a sustained campaign for the election result to be annulled.

`The people are calling on Hovhannisyan not to take a single step
backwards. He made a deal with the people and as he’s said, he will
not allow history to be re-edited,’ Safaryan said. `These visits are
an inauguration, the sealing of a compact between a citizen and his
electorate.’

President Sargsyan’s allies do not seem unduly shaken by Hovhanisyan’s campaign.

`Everyone is surprised that Hovhannisyan got so many votes. He
probably surprised himself,’ said Hovik Abrahamyan, the speaker of
parliament.

Manvel Sargsyan, head of analysis at the Armenian Centre for National
and International Studies, wondered whether the ruling elite was being
too complacent about what seemed a genuinely new trend in various
parts of the country.

`This is the first time the population has displayed so much energy
not just on election day, but after the polls as well,’ he said.

Gayane Lazarian is a reporter for Armenianow.com.

US Official News
March 1, 2013 Friday

Washington: US Mission to the OSCE Statement on Armenian Presidential Elections

Washington

Department of US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, The
Government of USA has issued the following news release:

The United States congratulates the people of Armenia on their
February 18 presidential election. We agree with the OSCE assessment
that the election was generally well-administered and characterized by
a respect for fundamental freedoms, including those of assembly and
expression, but some key concerns remain.

The OSCE found that the media provided balanced coverage and that all
contestants made use of their free air time.

We share, however, the OSCE observers’ concerns about a lack of
impartiality on the part of the public administration and the misuse
of administrative resources that resulted in a blurred distinction
between the activities of the state and those of the ruling party,
both during the pre-election period and on Election Day.

We also agree with the findings that while Election Day was calm and
orderly, it was marked by undue interference in the process, mainly by
proxies representing the incumbent, and by some serious violations,
including instances of pressure on voters.

The United States will continue to monitor the findings of
international and domestic election observers, as well as the
adjudication of election grievances during the post-election period.

We urge Armenian law enforcement officials to investigate and take
appropriate action in response to credible reporting of election law
violations, and we call on all parties to engage peacefully and for
the government to respect fundamental freedoms and rule of law.

For more information please visit:

LES DOCUMENTS DE L’IMMIGRATION ARMENIENNE

Par Laure Brumont

MARSEILLE, 27 fev 2013 (AFP) – A Marseille, terre d’asile des refugies
armeniens après la première guerre mondiale, une association recueille,
dans un fonds unique en Europe qu’elle a commence a numeriser, tout
document relatif a cette diaspora pour qui la memoire occupe une
“place infinie”.

“Notre but, c’est d’echanger avec les autres, croiser les memoires
et transmettre aux jeunes generations, dans un souci d’ouverture”,
explique a l’AFP le president de l’Association pour la recherche
et l’archivage de la memoire armenienne (Aram), Jacques Ouloussian,
dans le local de l’association creee en 1997, situe dans le quartier
paisible de Saint-Jerôme.

A l’occasion du lancement du site internet d’Aram ()
debut janvier, une bibliothèque numerique de plus de 40.000 pages a ete
mise en ligne et consultable gratuitement, grâce a l’aide financière
des collectivites locales mais egalement du ministère de la Culture.

Un partenariat signe en 2012 avec le Madenataran, la bibliothèque
nationale d’Armenie, va par ailleurs permettre de mutualiser la
diffusion de tous ces documents numerises, en attendant un prochain
“accord-cadre” avec les Archives nationales de France. Car “les
Armeniens sont un peuple du livre : quand il ne vous reste plus rien,
seule subsiste votre langue, c’est pourquoi la memoire prend une
place infinie dans notre culture”, explique Christian Varoujan Artin,
le fils du fondateur d’Aram.

Au menu du site : journaux, livres rares, affiches et documents, la
majorite en langue armenienne, mais aussi photos de classe, disques du
label Ararat, et des registres rares comme celui contenant la liste
des 5.441 refugies armeniens debarques a Marseille dès 1922, ou bien
l’acte de naissance du cineaste Henri Verneuil, ne Achod Malakian un
7 decembre 1920 et arrive bebe dans la cite phoceenne avec ses parents.

Designant un petit ouvrage jauni, M. Artin explique qu’il s’agit d’un
“très rare +Guide de Marseille en langue armenienne+ datant de 1926
a l’attention des refugies”.

Entre alors au local Andre Marikian, 65 ans, livret de famille en
main, qui vient chercher de l’aide pour sa mère, qui n’a jamais
eu de papiers. “Mon père est decede il y a trois mois et pour une
histoire de succession, je dois prouver l’identite de ma mère, or
c’est impossible : elle vit en France depuis 80 ans, ses fils ont
fait le service militaire, mais c’est comme si elle n’existait pas !”,
confie-t-il, emu.

“Si votre mère a ete enregistree en arrivant, vous la trouverez
ici”, le rassure M. Artin, en lui montrant les registres originaux
du camp Oddo, où furent regroupes, face au port, les Armeniens
fuyant les massacres en Turquie. On y lit la profession, l’âge,
la ville d’origine, la date d’arrivee et celle de depart, ainsi que
la destination de chaque refugie : “parti aux Etats-Unis, loge en
ville etc…”.

Rapidement, les jeunes Armeniens trouvent du travail sur les docks,
dans les sucreries, savonneries et huileries, “la France manquant de
bras après l’hecatombe de la guerre”, rappelle M. Artin.

La petite colonie de quelque 400 commercants et negociants armeniens,
installes a Marseille depuis le Moyen-Age, s’agrandit d’un coup :
“entre 1922 et 1924, quelque 60.000 refugies debarquent”, jusqu’a
atteindre 20% de la population marseillaise, precise-t-il.

Puis les immigres, après avoir construit eglises et ecoles, se
regroupent en associations qui permettent, outre “d’ecrire les
souvenirs du pays perdu” explique M. Ouloussian, de “creer du lien
social afin de ne pas laisser les orphelins seuls”.

Ces associations seront primordiales a l’entree en guerre en 1939
car elles permettront de lever rapidement des listes d’Armeniens
mobilisables qui refusent d’etre des “assistes” selon M. Artin,
pour defendre leur patrie d’adoption, dont le plus celèbre d’entre
eux sera le resistant Missak Manouchian, debarque a Marseille en 1925.

En montrant a l’entree du local des cartons où s’entassent les dons,
qu’il faut trier avant numerisation, le president lance un appel :
“surtout ne jetez rien !”.

vendredi 1er mars 2013, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

RAFFI HOVHANNISSIAN A SIOUNIK

Les quotidiens continuent de suivre les reunions pots-electorales
de Raffi Hovhannissian dans les regions. Selon Haykakan Jamanak,
le gouverneur controverse de Siounik, Souren Khatchatrian, aurait
fait son possible pour empecher la tenue des manifestations de M.

Hovhannissian dans cette region. A Goris, son rassemblement aurait
echoue, les habitants de cette ville ayant ete ” invites ” a ne
pas s’y rendre. Lors du rassemblement a Kapan où M. Hovhannissian
avait recueilli un score plus important que le President sortant,
il a appele le gouverneur en question a demissionner immediatement,
avertissant que, meme au prix de sa vie, il ne permettrait pas que la
victoire du peuple lui soit ” volee “. La veille, Raffi Hovhannissian
n’ayant pas reussi a trouver une chambre d’hôtel a Siounik, Armen
Martirossian, vice-president du parti Heritage, denonce a la ” une
” d’Aravot l’ambiance de terreur qui règnerait dans cette region.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 28 fevrier 2013

vendredi 1er mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com